


An Age in Chains

by LuceCannon21



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Drinking, Drunken Kissing, F/M, Gen, Kissing, M/M, Mutual Pining, Rough Kissing, Scars, Sparring, Texting, They'll bone eventually I promise.
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-09-25 04:35:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17114576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuceCannon21/pseuds/LuceCannon21
Summary: In an alternate universe where the colony had been discovered my Zarkon and Lotor was jailed, Team Voltron makes an advantageous ally.





	1. Breaking Chains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Voltron makes a new ally, Allura makes a new friend, and theres an incident with the teleduv.

They had been told he was dangerous.

When the Blade of Marmora had gone to liberate the prison, with the promise of a skilled informant on the line, they had not expected for seven of their skilled operatives to be taken down before they could sedate the target. Usually, those in trouble do not attack their rescuers. But possibly the most surprising thing about this violent prisoner was the information he apparently held.

He had to be delivered to the castle of lions under sedation still, and it took Kolivan and Keith a while to lug his body from their ship to the brig. Aside from him, only lance and hunk had seen him, and their reports on him varied.

“I mean, he was definitely big, and purple, but he looked different from the other galra. But I didn’t get a good look at his face.” Hunk had brought a meal to the cell they had put the comatose prisoner in while he was still asleep. But Lance on the other hand felt very different about the informant.

“He’s a demon.” He had only gone in because he lost a bet with Pidge. “He had this look on his face, it reminded me of a feral animal.”

Keith had gone out with the Blades again, and when Shiro asked him about the captive, he sort of shrugged. “Uh, I was on the other side of the prison, all I know is that he almost killed seven blades, without a weapon. Which doesn’t just happen.”

So as the present members of team Voltron walked down the hall to the brig, Pidge was grilling Hunk and Lance for any more information. “So you think he’s galra?” She said, curiously looking through the prison logs that had been sent to her.

“Well he’s definitely purple, but hes not fuzzy or scaly like they tend to be.” Hunk replied, causing Lance to cross his arms.

“Whatever he is, it’s freaky. He has weird eyes.” He frowned as they trailed behind Shiro and Allura.

Allura wasn’t interested in what he was, she was interested in the possibilities he held. The information they had been told he held was about Alteans. Living ones. Which almost seemed impossible if not for stories other freed prisoners told about the gladiator who spoke of Altean culture and Alchemy as if he had seen it firsthand. She hoped with her heart of hearts he wasn’t a false alarm.

Shiro tapped her on the arm. “Allura? Were you listening?” He looked concerned as they waited at the door to the brig.

“Oh, apologies Shiro…” She sighed. “This is just, rather stressful.”

“I understand Princess, but I can ask most of the questions. But feel free to chime in if you can. I know this is a big thing for you.” He patted her on the back as the doors opened.

From the walkway Allura could see a figure pacing back and forth across the cell. He had hair that hid his face, and it fell across his shoulders in choppy layers, as if someone had taken a knife to it. He wore typical prison garb, the loose shirt over bodysuit they had seen so often when rescuing rebels or freeing planets. As the doors closed, he stopped and turned to the group as they came to a stop in front of the cell.

“From one cell to another, regrettable. But I understand why you did it.” He sighed and ran a hand through the thick, messy waves of stark white hair hanging in his face. “My reaction was… Unfortunate. But what is one to do if a bunch of darkly clothed and strangely masked figures burst into solitary with no explanation.”

Everyone was startled at his manner of speech. Heavy, smooth tones hung in the air in an almost seductive manner. He stood straight, with the posture of a soldier, hands behind his back formally, and spoke like a nobleman, elegance dripping from his lips as they moved. But his whole appearance echoed a life of misfortune.

“That’s all good to know, but for now we’ll have to keep you here.” Shiro stepped forward, his hands on his hips in a sort of power pose. “But if we can confirm and deny a few things, this might be over faster.”

“If you want to know anything, go ahead and ask questions.” He tried to push a strand of hair from his face, sighing when it failed to stay back, submitting to its will.

Shiro began to talk with the man, but Allura lost his voice once again to her own mind. This time focused on the figure standing in the Cell. He must have been seven feet tall or so, and his posture was prepared but relaxed, such as a cat watching a bird from a distance. His skin was a sort of lilac, or lavender shade, and as she caught herself waxing poetic, she wondered why she was so interested by him. He seemed to notice her fixation with a sudden and surprising movement of his eyes. They were hues of yellow and navy, and while they stared through the glass of the cell at each other, he sort of smirked, bringing her attention to the rest of his face. He was sharp and angular in his features, though the way it was constructed seemed distractingly elegant, his eyes looked very tired. And when she finally looked back to the curvature of his lips, she discovered them marred by an upward slash from his chin to where his nose met his cheek under his eye. It caused part of his lip to curl strangely when he smiled, but it didn’t draw away from the looks he had, in fact, it made him seem more interesting in a way.

Allura cut Shiro off in the middle of a question. “We were told you knew the whereabouts of Alteans. How.” She said this with an urgency that surprised even her.

“Well, when Altea was destroyed, there was a portion of the populous living and trading off planet. Many went into hiding when the war began. I was part of an operation to find them and save their culture.” He looked at her intently with his pupils slowly expanding as he spoke, a sense of pride filling his voice.

“Where are they?” She felt hope pounding in her chest as she spoke frantically.

“Unfortunately they had to be sent back into hiding. There was an unfortunate event that led to the discovery of the colony they had lived in. Before it was destroyed by the Galra they were sent to remote planets to stay safe.” He paused. “I was the only person captured in this event.” He smiled softly at Allura. “I can gather that you yourself are Altean. Is that why this is of interest to you?”

“Ah, yes it is.” Her ears felt hot as he bared his sharp teeth behind his cut lips. “My name Is Allura.”

“Surely not… Are you Princess Allura of Altea?” His ears, which Allura was delighted to find came to a slim point, perked up as his eyes widened.

“She is! She’s also a paladin of Voltron!” Hunk chimed in sweetly, his kind voice enlightening the man in the cell to the reality of who he had been talking to.

“By the Ancients… What an honor this is, the Daughter of King Alfor and Queen Melenor in front of me.” She was definitely as he spoke with a sense of reverence.

This is when Lance spoke up with a sense of indignation. “How do we know if what he’s saying is true? He hasn’t even said anything about his name, or why he was part of this whole Altean thing!”

The man frowned slowly, turning towards Lance. “I understand your skepticism. Unfortunately, my name is no longer part of who I am. My guilt at not being able to properly protect the culture of the Alteans is though. I would not allow myself to be jailed for less.” He sounded much more serious, as if the doubt of his intentions brought him deep grief.

“Is there any way to locate the Alteans? Anything we could track?” Asked Pidge, stepping forward in front of her now flustered friend.

“Not that I can think of. We wanted to make sure the Galra were unable to locate them, and with my capture right after we sent them away, I’m unsure of how to find them exactly. I would tell you if I knew.” He said, sitting on the bench made up into a bed.

“That’s alright, If you’d like we can let you rest and go tell this information to the rest of the alliance.” Shiro said with a gentle tone, sensing that the man seemed less enthused about sharing information with them.

“That’s fine, but please, be careful with what you say, just in case.” He rested his elbows on his knees with a sort of resigned slump.

“Of course. Thank you for this.” Allura said to him, her heart beating so fast she wished she could jump into the air and whoop loudly with joy. There were Alteans out there. Her people. Alive.

The man smiled at her again, his quirked smile looking surprising charming in this moment. It said in a way. “I’d love to talk again.”

 

After a call to the Blade of Marmora Headquarters, The Rebellion, and other allied planets the Paladins split off. Pidge and hunk talked about seeing if they could look up any video feeds from some border planets to see if anyone looked like an Altean in camouflage mode, Lance said he was going to practice shooting, and Shiro very plainly said “I need a nap.”

Coran tried to see if the princess wanted to talk about the Alteans, and while she loved Coran, she was much too excited for words to describe, and so with a hug to him, she began to wander the palace aimlessly.

She popped into various antechambers and empty rooms, thinking about if they could find Alteans, would they all be able to fit into the palace? Or perhaps there were more than that.

By the time dinner was called, her mind was full of questions she couldn’t find answers to. She ate in silence as the others talked. Lance had set a new high score for his sharpshooting, which she was proud of, and Shiro stated that he had napped too much, now he felt sore. There were no strange sightings by Hunk or Pidge, but Allura knew her people were out there, no matter how deep undercover they were.

The castle went into night mode soon after they cleaned up from dinner. There was the cool blue of sconces as Allura walked back to her room and changed into her nightgown, but she couldn’t rest. In the back of her mind, the various questions she had still battered her brain. So she got up, put on a pair of slippers, and started walking towards the brig.

No one was around as she entered, but she saw movement in the cell.

The man was faced away from the door, seemingly changing out of the prison clothes and into something else. As he did this, Allura blushed momentarily, before her eyes were caught by the pattern of scars trailing up and down his back and shoulders. His hair was pulled up into a bun on top of his head, and she could see there were even strikes that became hidden under his hairline.

She coughed, and with a start, he pulled his shirt down in surprise. “Quiznak! You could have stopped my heart princess.” He said, staring at her with wide eyes. “How long were you here? Where are the others?”

“It’s just me this time. Sorry to disappoint.” She eyed his new outfit, which looked to have been dug out of storage by someone, possibly Coran or Shiro. It was a black thigh length tunic with a geometric pattern along the border embroidered in red, and a set of periwinkle blue pants, tucked into boots that stopped about half way up his calves.

“Who said I was disappointed. Just surprised is all.” He did look curious. “May I ask why you decided to come to me?”

“I just have some questions.” She said, sitting down on the ground in front of the cell. He looked surprised, but took a seat across from her.

“I am at your command princess.” He said that term with a sense of endearment, but it also seemed like he sounded sort of pained.

“How did you end up working towards saving Alteans?” She said, leaning on her arms propped on her legs.

“I was lucky to not have much supervision as I grew older, and made some discoveries, one of which being the existence of surviving Alteans. After an unfortunate event… I was able to find people to help me in my endeavor to help these people.” He said ‘Unfortunate event’ with a nervous tone, looking upset as he spoke.

“Where did you hide them?” She didn’t know how a whole colony of Alteans had been kept a secret from Zarkon at all, even if it failed.

“Well, there’s this time vortex…” he looked as if he was about to go off on a long tangent, but stopped himself. “It was constructed in a pocket of space-time that was extremely hard to access, and so until we were exposed, it was impossible to discover if you were looking for it.” He sighed. “It was lovely really. Lots of farmland and homes, all in a simulated environment. People were happy, it was much better than a life in hiding.”

Allura nodded. “I agree.” Softly she spoke again. “You were said to have knowledge of Altean Alchemy and history? Is it true?” His eyes lit up.

“I find it all so fascinating. I wish I could learn more. It was so hard to find that kind of thing in the empire.” He sighed. “You wouldn’t happen to have any books would you?”

“Maybe I do? But maybe I don’t…” she teased. She had been watching as seriousness faded from his face, and sharp creases where his brow furrowed and mouth pursed smoothed to return a sort of youthful appearance to his face.

“You wound me princess. I ask kindly for a modicum of entertainment in this glass cage and you give me a taunting maybe?” He pretended to swoon. “How harsh, the monarch of Altea.”

“Fine, Fine, you’ll get your books. But am I not entertainment enough?” She feigned offence, the sarcasm in their voices raising to a crescendo as they taunted back and forth.

There was a long period of time where they just ended up joking with one another to their own surprise. It was only as the clock on the timepiece in her pocket showed it was deep into the night that she asked something that had been bugging her.

“Are you full Galra?” She knew it was rude to ask, but when he shook his head, she nodded softly.

“My father was, no one… No one told me about my mother. All I know is I’m a halfbreed.” He sighed. “That didn’t exactly make me popular growing up.”

“What was It like, being a child in the empire?” She asked, and his face went hard.

“Painful. Any sign of weakness was punished with scrutiny. I would often wish that I had not been born in the first place.” He said this hollowly, looking not at her anymore.

“You don’t have to worry about the Galra anymore. Voltron can protect you.” She smiled and set a hand on the glass.

“Will you protect me? If they come to finish me before we find the Alteans.” He looked at her, as if grasping at something in the air between them.

“Of course, we all will.” She smiled gently. “You should rest. You’ve been through a lot.”

He nodded. “Of course. Sleep well Princess.”

“Wait, one last thing. If I cannot call you your name, what should I call you?” She looked at him as he got up.

“Hm, many in the prison would call me Long Ears, or Scarmouth, but none of those are fit for the lips of a princess…” She arose, and he looked at her thoughtfully. “Call me your friend. Maybe I’ll find something else eventually.”

“Well then my friend, sleep well. Perhaps we could get you a real room soon.” She smiled tiredly, yawning a little.

“I can only hope.” As he laid down, the lights dimmed, and Allura turned and walked away from the brig, her heart feeling both warm, but heavy. She returned to her own bed and thought of her nameless friend, and what could have caused him to cast away his own identity.

 

The next few days were a repeat, though slower. They would all go to the cell, ask questions, and get answers. Allura’s friend wasn’t just a powerhouse of Altean knowledge, he had a keen sense of hearing, and heard of various shipping routes and such while being moved about the facility. He had been approached by Shiro at times and asked about if conditions in the prisons had changed (They hadn’t) and their mutual hatred of the gladiator pits. Pidge had questioned him on possible planets the Alteans could be hiding on, and set up surveillance networks in a hope of finding any without having to do a deep search. Even Lance had gone to see him alone once, but denied it thoroughly.

Allura visited him every night though. She would bring books on Altean alchemy, old favorite novels, and even a few more risqué books that they had joked about the previous nights. Sometimes he would start reading with her there, and she found herself enamored with how his face changed while reading. If it was an instructional book, he would nod slightly when he enjoyed a passage, and make soft “Mhm.” Or “Uh-uh.” Noises if he agreed or disagreed, but it seemed like he didn’t notice it at all. When reading a fictional novel, at points he would make shocked gasps, or whisper “No!” At dramatic points, and occasionally comment things like “I find it pointless how just because he was in love with him, both of their families were targeted by Alenal.” There was even a point in one of her favorite books where he started sniffling and trying to hide faint tears. But she found it all so charming. After he finished, they would discuss the books, no matter how dull the manuscript or how saucy the content. They talked about relatable characters, and overly complicated courtship, and any time they talked about things like this, they smiled.

One night, after reading a novel full of cheesy pining and swooning love-struck protagonists, Allura rested her head on the glass, sitting with her side against it. “Say, have you ever been in love like these characters?” She said it jokingly, but with a laugh, her friend, sitting across from her, also resting on the glass nodded.

“I was younger, slightly naïve.” He sighed “But we were very close.”

“Did something happen?” She saw how his eyes turned down as she asked, she knew it wasn’t good.

“Well, before I worked on the Altean Project, I was stationed as a supervisor in quintessence extraction on a small planet. Its people had a strong connection to nature, and were not fond of the Galra occupation in the slightest.” He shifted his body weight, drawing his legs closer to his body, slumping slightly. “She was assigned as an aide, and she didn’t like me at all at first.”

“You were a soldier?” she could hardly picture him in the standard uniforms, he seemed rather small for a Galra to begin with, but in uniform he would have probably stuck out more.

“Not exactly, but in a sense yes.” He seemed to skirt around the topic, before leaning towards her. “I had found there was a way to obtain quintessence without things like the Komar, or mining, and it worked well. I was able to implement it with her help. She was charming, and her people respected her. In time, they respected both of us.”

“She sounds very nice.” Allura was worried about how this would end.

“Mmh, yes, she was. We became closer when it first worked. There was a party, and she dragged me behind a row of booths…” He trailed off.

“Did you kiss?” She smirked.

He grew a deeper shade of violet. “Yes.”

“Was it your first kiss?” she leaned in curiously.

“No, but it was my first with… Feeling, behind it.” He took a moment to place the word, it was obviously a special moment for him.

Allura couldn’t stand him moving around the subject, she couldn’t see any reason he wasn’t with her now if he could still speak of her so softly. “Did she die?”

He nodded. “Her and her entire planet.” Allura stared.

“What happened?” She whispered.

“My unorthodox methods were discovered. I was ordered to destroy the planet, but I refused. They took me away by force and razed everything. I was sent into exile after that.” He looked up. “I seem to lose everything, Hm?”

“Well, Zarkon and Haggar and Sendak cannot take this away. And eventually, things like that will never happen again.” Allura said this firmly, determined.

He smiled. “Princess, you know, you’re quite something.”

She felt a heat rising in her cheeks. “I-I’m saying this as a paladin of Voltron! A-and your friend of course!”

He laughed, covering his mouth with his hand. “Of course, of course Princess.”

She hid her face behind her hair slightly. Sighing, both of them knew it was late, and that soon they would have to sleep. But they stayed looking at each other for a few seconds more, neither of them really knowing why that was.

“Good night Allura.” The man said softly, being the first to get up.

“Oh, yes, good night.” She said, getting up and brushing off her skirt. Her heart was fluttering nervously, and as he yawned she looked at the sharp canines and his scar, and felt her heart pound faster. She couldn’t figure out why though.

 

Pidge rushed into the common area early in the morning one day, looking like she hadn’t had enough sleep. Panting and gasping for air, she grinned. “I found someone.”

There was a rush of movement as they went to the Bridge, all looking at the footage Pidge had found. “This is on a planet called Merowan, its people are under Galra occupation, but surveillance is lacking, so when I hijacked their drones, I was lucky to even find this!” Pidge looked so proud, pointing at the figure of a girl with long blonde hair pulling down her hood and shifting from the native appearance, to Altean, and then back again as someone walked past. “The only issue is that it’s going to be used as a refueling station in a few days, so if we want to start the extraction, we need to do this fast.”

Shiro looked nervous. “Do we know if there are any others?”

Lance nodded “If it’s just her, should we risk bringing Voltron to the planet so fast? With the whole ship thing coming up.”

“If we don’t, and she is discovered, they may torture her to find other Alteans, or vice versa. And if we can liberate the planet that is one more point for Voltron in the long run.” Allura said, staring at the images with awe. “We can do it.”

“Yeah, I agree with Allura on that, Voltron is supposed to free Galra occupied worlds, so it’s only fair we do that, and rescue the Alteans.” Hunk said putting a hand on her shoulder. “But this could be a large undertaking. We may want to send some of the rebels ahead to scope everything out.”

Everyone agreed that this needed planning, and through communication with the rebels nearby, they began scoping out the planet. Allura was ecstatic, her mind moved so fast she hardly realized she was down in the brig until the man spoke.

“What happened, what’s going on?” He jumped up, seeing Allura so frantic.

“We found Alteans, and we’re mounting a force to extract them, and reclaim the planet from the Galra.” She said breathlessly.

His eyes widened “Oh thank the ancients they’re alive.” He looked so much more relived, his face going from a look of fear to one of joy.

“That means I’ll probably be gone for a while once we make this plan. Will that be alright?” She said, walking up to the glass. “I’ll be back though, as soon as I can be.”

“Promise me you’ll be safe Princess.” He said this firmly and suddenly, his eyes tinged with worry.

“Of course. Don’t worry about me. Once we have the Alteans, we can probably get you your own room as well. I apologize for that taking so long.” He nodded at her softly, but there was obviously something on his mind.

“If not for this cell, we wouldn’t have been able to have our talks. So at least I’m grateful for that.” He sighed.

She didn’t know what to say, he had this melancholy look that he usually did not have, and it worried her.

“When we have the Alteans, you could come see them.” She said gently, and he suddenly shook his head.

“No, I cannot face them. I failed them.” He sounded frantic, scared, as if he thought they would tear him limb from limb when he saw them.

“Well… Eventually, I’d like your help in having them settle. But I can understand wanting to take some time.” She nodded. Her offer had had an adverse effect, but as she sighed softly and turned he spoke up.

“You promise to be safe.” He said again.

“Of course. I’ll be back. Don’t worry.”

 

He sat in the cell, he had tended to measure time by Allura’s visits, and so he had fitful sleeps and resumed his pacing as he had done on his arrival. He didn’t know why the Princess’s absence bothered him so much, going to the point of making him frustrated as time went on. It was only when there was a loud explosion, and everything shook, throwing him to the floor of his cell. The explosions continued, and he knew the castle was under attack. There was a brief flash of panic, knowing if that was the case, the shields were down, and that Voltron was also under attack. He had to do something.

There wasn’t anything to throw to break the glass. But there were spots he had inspected in the past, where the glass had been weakened by age or prior damage. He had thought it a stupid idea to try and break it in the past, but he couldn’t stay here. He couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. So he threw himself at it, as fast and hard as he possibly could at the weakest point, and repeated it, small cracks forming until the whole pane was a spider web. Then with one last burst, a deep inhale, he launched his body against it. The noise was an onslaught for the ears, but the pain of falling on shards of glass distracted him.

Very quickly he pushed himself back up, unaware of small shards of glass sticking in his palms and soles as he ran down the catwalk to the door, and then ran into the hall.

He was unsure of where to go, but started running, trying to find someone, the bridge possibly.

Strategy ran through his mind, possible unseen scenarios flashed like the warning lights overhead. He didn’t know what was going on, and he hated it.

He got on an elevator, and had it bring him to what he hoped was some kind of control area, or at least a window. He needed to see.

The ship shook again, and the lights flickered for a moment. “No, no, no, no, COME ON.” He roared, slamming his fists against the door. It continued moving, and he held his collar anxiously.

The door opened and he heard the voice of Coran shouting. “Protect the Evac shuttles! We can’t wormhole them away!” He turned as he saw the figure in the elevator stepping out.

“What the blazes! What are you doing here?!” He looked more panicked, rapidly looking back and forth to the screens and the man as he walked onto the Bridge.

“I want to help. You cannot do this alone.” He said firmly, scanning the battle on the screen. “They’re evacuating the planet. What happened?”

“It wasn’t just a few ships, it was a fleet! We think Sendak got word and sent them to take down the planet.” He said frantically, pressing buttons and firing cannons.

“And you said you couldn’t wormhole, is the Teleduv broken?” Taking a battle station, Coran stared as the man started rapidly looking at probability displays and the like.

“No, the Princess isn’t here to operate it! Usually she could get back if we needed it, but Voltron is trying to fight off all those ships!” Coran fired another volley of lasers at the fighter ships zooming their direction. “And backup is still a while off!”

In his mind he ran through a thing he had never done, but believed he could. He shakily closed the station. The Teleduv controls were already up, as if Coran was waiting for Allura to return.

Coran watched as the man ran up to the controls, his hands slamming onto the glowing hand holds. “What are you doing?!” He yelled, but stared as the lights began to shine brightly.

“I had to try!” Yelling back, the man began to somehow operate the wormhole generator. Coran frantically called the ships.

“We’re opening a wormhole! Get through! Now!” Watching as the man stood at the controls, trembling. It was obviously a huge strain on his body, but he stood there, the wormhole steady in the sky as the shuttles and smaller ships began fleeing. Without the threat of civilian casualty, Voltron began shredding Galra Battleships, causing flares of red and orange to appear in the distance.

Shaking, the man continued to hold the wormhole, after a while, his head slumping, and sweat staining his shirt. Coran knew something was strange about him, but the only way for this to even be possible was if he was part Altean.

The last ship vanished into rubble in the distance, and Coran shouted “Get through the wormhole now! It won’t stay open much longer!” He was sure when he said this, as the man was almost on his knees, clinging to the posts like his life depended on it.

As both Voltron and the ship went through ending up in a blank quadrant of space, he fell down, his knees connecting with the ground, then his torso. He laid splayed out on the ground, and with a groan, became unconscious.


	2. Passing the Bottle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lotor bares his history, and they all get drunk.

Everyone was astonished at the miracle of the wormhole. They ran onto the bridge after docking, unsure of what to expect, only to see Coran hunched over the former captive, laying comatose on the floor.

They brought him into the med bay, Allura hovering over him frantically. Her friend had gone a much fainter shade of purple, and was having cold shocks, but still sweat slicked his hair back.

“W-what even happened?” Allura said, trembling nervously.

“He… Held open the wormhole.” Coran said, looking quite shocked himself.

“How!?!” She cried out frantically.

“You think I know?! Maybe you should ask him himself!” He said with a shrill tone.

“Well I’d like to! But he is currently indisposed!” She yelled, only to have everyone stare. She felt tears welling up in her eyes, but wiped them away. “He used too much quintessence. He needs to rest, we should get him into a room.”

Everyone looked at her, shocked. “Are you sure about that Allura? He broke out of that cell, he could wake up and hurt someone.” Pidge said softly.

“He won’t. Trust me, I know him.” She said, putting her arms around his torso. “Shiro, can you help me carry him so I’m not dragging his legs.”

“Uh, yeah, sure.” Shiro said, picking up his legs. “His feet are bleeding. Hands too.”

“I’ll get them cleaned once we get him in a bed.” She said this firmly, tired of people questioning her judgement. “Now please. Let’s go.”

They put him in one of the many extra rooms in the palace, putting his limp body on the mattress. Just as Allura went to get a first aid kit for the scrapes and cuts all over her friend’s body, she was faced with lance, holding an armful of stuff.

“He saved lives, I’m grateful for that.” As Lance handed her the supplies, Allura nodded.

“Thank you Lance, this is very nice.” She smiled softly, and with an awkward double finger guns Lance retreated from the room.

With a sigh, allura began pulling slivers of glass from the palms of the man’s hands. Softly huffing, she focused and muttered “And you really told me to be careful?”

 

There was a hum in the air as information flowed from the Alteans to Allura, she was told there were more of them on a few other planets, bringing her hope for the future. But for now, they focused on repairs, and she focused on the mystery of her friend.

He was unconscious still, but that didn’t stop her formulating questions in her mind. He must have been part Altean, he had to have had strategical training from what Coran told her, he couldn’t have ever used alchemy before if he collapsed like that, but how would he have even known what to do? Her brain boiled as the days passed, and he still slept.

She would visit his room often, frustrated more than anything, watching his cuts heal with a rapid speed thanks to small applications of quintessence.

She kept bringing books too, reading quietly next to him once a day, every day, for around four days. As she sat one day, Allura watched him quietly, his face looking flushed and beaded with sweat ever so slightly. He looked as if he had a temperature. Which had come up every once and a while these past few days. His breathing was shallow, and as he gasped softly, Allura pushed up his hair from his forehead and gently pressed her lips to it.

It felt warm, but not too hot, and as she sat back up, only then did she realize her action. She blinked, shocked at her own body’s motion. She could have used the back of her hand, or even gotten a thermometer, but she had mimicked how her mother used to check her temperature at times, with a gentle tenderness that was hard to find in the touch of a scanner. She didn’t know exactly why she had done it, but she didn’t really regret it either.

She looked back down at him, his lips parted ever so slightly, his small fangs exposed as he took shuddering, sighing breaths. The scar made him look like he was upset, a snarl inadvertently carved across his mouth. She saw his eyebrows furrow slightly to her surprise, and then his lashes fluttered.

He exhaled a soft groan his eyes opening and meeting her own. “Allura?” He croaked, barely more than a whisper, his eyes widening, he grabbed her hand. “Princess, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry this is all wrong.” He sounded as if he was holding back a sob, voice wavering slightly.

“What do you mean? Is this about the Teleduv?” She asked, leaning in. “You don’t have to worry, everyone made it out, everything is fine.” He shook his head violently.

“I’ve misled you. I kept things from you I shouldn’t have. Please, if you want to go, I understand. But please, listen.” He slowly pushed himself up against the pillows on the bed.

“I’m listening, why wouldn’t I?” She said, confused.

He was shaking as he looked at her. “I hid things, I should have told you before but I was so worried. I didn’t want you to think I was a monster.”

“It- It’s alright. Just start at the beginning.” Allura pushed a lock of hair from his face, but he pulled back, as if something in his dreams had left him in a state of absolute terror.

“My name is Lotor, Prince of the Galra Empire.” He stammered nervously. “Emperor Zarkon is my Father.” He then squeezed her hand, as if to say ‘wait, that’s not all.’ “My mother was Altean, which is why I could operate the Teleduv. She was the Alchemist, Honerva.”

Allura stared, gape mouthed. “You- What- How?” She whispered.

“I was born just before her death. I was raised without even knowing she existed.” He whispered. “After my father destroyed the planet and exiled me, I swore to find a way to preserve her people, as there was no way they all perished. I also immersed myself in Altean history, from ruins to records preserved off planet. I did all of this to fail.” He ran a hand through his hair.

“I’m not mad, I’m not even scared. I’m just confused. Why hide it until now?” Allura said, grabbing his other hand and looking him in the eyes the best she could.

“You’re fighting Zarkon’s Empire. Having his child on your side would seem like I was trying to trick you into a trap. I just… I wanted to gain your trust. I was so used to lying when I was imprisoned as well, the first time someone found out I was the Emperor’s son, they gave me this.” He pointed to the scar. He squeezed his eyes shut. “I beg for your forgiveness Princess.”

“You have no need to beg.” She said gently, shifting her body from the bedside chair, to the side of his bed, next to his covered legs. “You were afraid.” She said softly “You told us what we wanted to know, and you didn’t have to say anything else. And like you said, it was mostly truth. Its not like I told anyone about our conversations, so you didn’t lie to the team.” She watched as he looked down, hair hiding his face.

“But I lied to you. That’s what bothered me.” He let her push his hair up this time, and looked up at her. “So much bothered me about my actions.”

“What do you mean?” Allura moved her head to look at him easier.

“I felt helpless because I couldn’t help you. I broke a wall of glass just so I could attempt to do something.” He squeezed her hands. “I felt guilty I couldn’t give you something to call me. Even after we talked for nights on end.”

She gently let one of his hands go, and placed her own on his cheek. “Lotor really is a lovely name.” His eyes widened, almost shocked at her gesture. “There are so many worse things you could have done. I’m just glad you told me now.”

Lotor gazed at her softly, his smile returning slightly. “What? Like gain your trust only to use you to gain my father’s fealty once more.” He said sarcastically.

Allura shoved him softly “You wouldn’t!”

“I know, I wouldn’t.” He laughed lightly.

“I know you might do something as stupid as using a Teleduv without training and almost killing yourself though.” She leaned in. “You do that again and I will throw you through a wormhole myself.”

Lotor laughed “If I save your life again then you can’t.”

“Oh no, I still will.” She said firmly “You can’t go around doing things like that when you told me to be careful.”

He laughed, sighing slightly. “Alright, you win.” He leaned back. “You’re so kind, I’m glad we are friends.” He whispered, gazing up at the overhang of the bed.

Allura nodded, smiling slightly. She had a feeling in the pit of her stomach though, she felt bothered when he called her a friend, but she didn’t know why. They were friends, so what was it that felt so wrong?

 

As Lotor recovered over the next few days, he and Allura talked about how they planned to explain the whole “actually a prince” thing to everyone. For Allura, the strangest thing was how logical it all seemed, him having a royal background. From his posture, to way of speaking, to strategical prowess, he was always collected as he talked to the other paladins.

The all sat around the table one night, no one spoke, forks shoved in their mouths, until Lotor spoke up.

“While you are all here. I would like to explain something.” He said, setting his utensils down.” He looked over at Allura nervously, and she nodded softly in support.

“I have not been open with you, out of worry that you would judge me. As well, my history is complex.” He looked at everyone nervously.

“What do you mean?” Shiro said curiously.

For a moment, he froze, staring at the table, frowning.

Allura stood. “His name is Lotor, and his father is Zarkon.” She heard Coran gasp, and there was an electric tension in the air. “He was exiled, and then completely stripped of his power when he was found having made a colony for the Alteans.”

“Trust me, I want him gone as much as you all do.” Lotor said firmly. “The universe has a balance that needs to be reformed. So please. Don’t be upset I kept this from you. I wanted to be able to help you without a title I no longer have hanging over my head.”

“I want you all to know, I trust him. He saved my people, and saved all of our lives as well.” She touched his shoulder gently. “With his help, defeating the Galra Empire may be easier as well.”

Hunk nodded “Alright, why shouldn’t we trust you, we’re all in this together.”

“If Hunk’s in, I’m in. We shouldn’t judge based on the past. We all want this war to be over, that’s what matters.” Pidge said, looking from Hunk to Lotor with a smile. “Plus, I can ask you about Galra coding and stuff. Which could be useful.”

Lotor laughed. “I can try my best, I’ve been locked in prisons for the past couple of thousand years though.”

Lance was frowning, and got up. He walked over to Lotor, who stood up straight, looking ever so slightly worried. “You’re alright man.” He extended his hand to the other, he smirked. “We’ll kick Sendak’s ass so hard he won’t even know what hit him.”

With a look of surprise, Lotor smiled. “Indeed, we will.”

“I guess that’s all settled then.” Shiro said, smiling. “No need to keep secrets here. We all want the same thing.”

After all the tension of the meal, as the paladins hung out in the common area, Lotor snuck away, finding a quiet corridor and leaning against the wall. His heart was pounding and he exhaled shakily. He was glad all of that was over, and didn’t know what he would have done if Allura hadn’t stepped in. His public speaking skills had eroded slightly over the years, so her support saved him from almost certain embarrassment.

“Lotor? Are you alright?” He shot upright at the sound of Allura coming around the corner, with a smile, he nodded.

“Of course princess.” He forced a smile. With a soft frown, she stood in front of him, taking one of his hands.

“You did amazing by the way.” She said. “You should come to the common room. Pidge found some nunvil hidden away and we’ve been passing the bottle around for a bit now. You should come and have some too.”

“I don’t know if I should… I haven’t had a drink in thousands of years…” he laughed nervously. “And if you mean “completely embarrassing” by amazing, then I agree.”

“No! I mean you did very well. I’m glad everyone knows and that you were able to talk about it.” She was blushing a little, but he couldn’t tell if it was because of the nunvil or something else. “And I think that not having a drink for thousands of years is even more of a reason for you to have some now. You’ve earned it.” She grinned, pulling at him slightly.

He sighed, relenting. “Alright, but if I end up embarrassing myself, you’ll pay for it.” He smiled as she dragged him back into the common room, cheers coming from all the paladins as she did.

“Hell fucking yeah! Gangly man is back!” Shouted Pidge at the top of their lungs.

He blushed, laughing at bit at the expletives coming from the smallest paladin. He also observed Lance urging hunk to lift him in the others “Big strong manly arms.” Rather dramatically.

As they all sat around the couches and exchanged stories and jokes, Allura found herself watching Lotor. He hadn’t drank much, but his cheeks were flushed, and he was snickering wildly mumbling things occasionally, but not saying much. She would also catch him making glances her way as she spoke to the other paladins, almost enraptured by the sound of her voice. At a point, Shiro started yelling about how cool Keith looked in his Blades outfit, and then laid on the floor, causing Lotor to go into a giggling fit at the others expense.

Eventually the bottle was empty, and they all ran out of things to talk about. Allura felt warm and dizzy, and as she got up, she stumbled slightly.

From next to her, she heard a soft “Do you need some help Princess?” From Lotor, who somehow seemed composed once more, extending a hand to help.

“Thank you sir Lotor. I am ever grateful for your kindness.” She said with a smirk, taking his hand. “Though shouldn’t an elegant man such as yourself be sweeping me off my feet and carrying me to bed?”

“I’m not quite sure that would be proper in this situation.” He said, nodding to the others as they left the room. “I can lend you my shoulder to lean on in this case though.”

She pressed up against his arm, it was warm and firm, and a little like a cat she rubbed her cheek against him. “Lead the way my liege.”

“Dear Princess, I am no knight, should you really refer to me as such?” He looked away from her as she clung to his side like a burr.

“I think it counts. You’re a hero to me.” They stopped in front of her door.

“I guess this is where we part ways for the night Princess.” With a sigh, Lotor opened the door for her. “Is there anything else you need?”

Allura looked at her room, and frowned. “Just one thing. Lean in.” She said, gesturing him closer.

As he leaned, she slid her arms around his neck, pulling him down into a kiss, slowly sliding a hand into his hair as she did.

Lotor’s eyes went wide, and then he felt himself melting slightly at her touch. With a gasp, he pushed her against the wall, his arm wrapped around her waist as she pressed herself against his leg. For a moment, the parted, panting softly.

Nervously, Lotor whispered. “Princess, I don’t think you’re in the right mind for this.” He could see slight disappointment in her eyes, but she pulled him into a hug.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me.” She mumbled into his ear, and then as she pulled away, she gently ran her hand along his jaw. “Good night Lotor.”

He stared, heart pounding as she walked into her own room. “Good night Princess.”


	3. Taking Some Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A discovery leads to a team being formed to locate another group of Alteans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning to those who do not like Sheith. I like it. If that in any way affects your enjoyment of this story, sorry I guess.
> 
> Also I have been gifting lotor outfits because it's what he deserves as a fashion icon.

Over the course of the next week or so, it was obvious Allura and Lotor were avoiding each other.

They had been almost joined at the hip prior to that night, but now… They didn’t see each other aside from meal times, and even then they didn’t speak or really acknowledge the other’s existence.

Lotor had begun spending time combing through the Castle Library, helping the other Paladins train, and even helping with the upkeep of the Lions. But everyone had noticed him skirting out of the room when Allura entered, and when he could not, avoiding eye contact and trying to busy himself with something else.

He was sitting with Hunk and Pidge one day, talking about possible locations of the other Alteans and his memory of Galra security systems, when Pidge leaned up against the workbench he had sat on.

“So, did something happen between you guys?” They said, elbowing him. “You and Allura have been weird recently.”

Lotor sat upright, staring at one very specific area of the floor. “Uh… Nothing… Really…”

“You aren’t great at lying man.” Hunk said, pushing his headband back up.

“Yeah, you couldn’t have more clearly branded “The princess and I probably boned after getting smashed.” Pidge said, jumping up onto the bench and putting an arm around Lotor. “Ah, youth.” They said with a heavy layer of sarcasm.

“It is nothing like that!” Lotor’s eyes went wide, face flushing. “I would never- She is royalty- I- I would never.” He sputtered.

“I’m pretty sure she would.” Hunk said. “I mean, just based on all the time she spends around you.”

“But something had to have happened. Why else would you be so… Weird.” Pidge said, leaning in with a grin.

“It would be a disservice to the Princess to talk about her behind her back.” Lotor ran a hand through his hair. “Why are you two so interested in this?”

“Partially blackmail, partially because I’m wondering what kind of weird shit you guys do.” They wiggled their eyebrows with a goofy grin.

“Well I’m just invested in the romance of it all.” Hunk said, scratching his neck sheepishly. “I think you guys would be a very sweet couple.”

“Is this how you usually talk with friends on your planet?” Lotor said, burying his head in his hands.

“Generally yeah.” Pidge said, “Usually we would chat between bunks when we were still at the garrison. I have so much shit on Lance you would not believe.”

As she said this, there was a beeping on one of the monitors they had set up to surveil possible planets the Alteans had hid on. Hunk spun his chair over to it and squinted. “I think we got a hit!”

Lotor and Pidge rushed next to Hunk and hovered over his shoulders. On some camera, they saw a man with dreadlocks and dark skin heading into a building. As he glanced over his shoulders, a bright splash of blue was visible on his cheeks, along with his ears, which were pointed.

Pidge tried to zoom in, but groaned. “Advanced alien civilization and you guys still have terrible camera quality.” They captured the screenshot anyways, and began circling things that were possible markers of him being an Altean. “You should go tell the Princess, Lotor. I think this would make her very happy.”

“I- Are you sure It should be me.” He whispered, scrunching up his face a bit.

“Absolutely. Now go!” They yelled, shooing him off with a wave of their hand.

 

Lotor found Allura in the training room fighting the training robot with her Bayard. She ran gracefully up its back and using the whip form to rip the robot’s head straight off. He stared for a few moments, before realizing and awkwardly clearing his throat.

 

“Princess-.” Allura spun around, whip at the ready, but relaxed when she saw Lotor, her eyes lighting up. “Pidge requested I come get you. We’ve caught wind of another group of Alteans.”

Allura seemed strangely disappointed that this was the only thing Lotor seemed to want. “Oh! That’s wonderful!” She put away her Bayard and ran over. “Did you see them?”

“Only one, but it seems probable there will be more.” Beginning to walk with her quietly, he caught her glancing at him. “Princess, I’d like to apologize for my recent behavior.”

With a look of surprise, Allura shook her head. “No need. I understand your reaction completely. I just… I guess I was a bit too hopeful.”

Lotor didn’t know what to say, so he nodded softly. “I hope we can move past this. I enjoy spending time with you, and so this just seems… Unnecessary.”

A silence stood between them like a chaperone, but neither of them attempted to breach it. When they met up with Pidge and Hunk, Allura quickly immersed herself in the news of the Alteans, hugging her friends gleefully.

“So are we going to try and extract them?” Hunk asked curiously as they went over footage and reanalyzed past tapes.

“Well, that didn’t exactly go well when we went in there with no real plan last time. My suggestion is we send someone down there to scope everything out first, monitor frequencies to make sure we can do this without the whole… Fleet of ships wrecking our shit thing happening again.” Pidge took note of several instances of possible Alteans all going to that same bar the first one they had seen had gone into. “Maybe I should get Matt on the line about this.”

“I could go with him. I may be able to get more out of them if any of them even remember I exist.” They looked at him with slight surprise. “I can hold my own in a fight too, obviously.”

“We’ll have to bring it up with everyone else, and the rebels, but since you volunteered, let’s keep it in mind.” Allura said, turning back to the computer.

They called everyone to the bridge, standing at her spot under the balmera crystal, Allura showed the screenshots of the bar, and other areas in the same city where Alteans had been spotted to Shiro, Lance, and Coran. They had sent the file to the Blade of Marmora, quickly receiving a message from Keith. It read “Nice, Kolivan said that you have our support. He still doesn’t like messaging you guys directly though. I’m free to do anything you guys need.” Which was a boost to their collective confidence. Similarly when Matt got their message, along with the idea of Lotor joining him on an information mission, he sent a similarly positive message.

“So with Lotor, Matt, and possibly Keith going planetside, my suggestion is that we should stay a bit away for now, let them gather information, then once we know everything is good and solid, we go and extract the Alteans, and take down the galra base next to the city.” Shiro stood up and put his hand on Lotor’s shoulder. “How’s that sound for everyone?”

“It seems like the best course of action. But if Lotor’s going to be doing that, he’s going to need some equipment upgrades.” Lance gestured to the outfit Lotor had on, which was very much not battle ready, or anywhere but the ship ready.

“Oh I’ve got some designs already!” Pidge chimed in. “It shouldn’t be too hard to fabricate once you give me some input alright?” They smiled at Lotor, who nodded thankfully.

“I would also like access to a sword. While I hope nothing happens in the way of having to use it, I know it would be more advantageous to have it than to not have it.” He turned towards the group. “I intend to serve as a member of the Voltron Coalition, and I want to be able to protect as such.”

“I’m pretty sure we have some in the old armory! With some sharpening and polishing they’ll be as good as the day they were forged.” Coran chimed in.

“Alright, it’s settled then. Coran and Pidge, help him get ready, if anyone else has any ideas, bring them up with me or the Princess.” Shiro said, effectively dismissing the meeting.

 

Pidge showed Lotor draft after Draft of their ideas for armor. He admired her dedication to the textiles, and plating, but in the end almost completely overthrew their ideas with suggestions of his own. He took elements from the Blade of Marmora uniforms, Galra armor, and even the Paladin’s armor. He also described his old armor that he wore before his time in prison. Pidge kept the color scheme he described, but made sure that if someone really looked, they would know “This guy is with Voltron.”

The finished outfit had a mask that could cover the lower half of his face, and a hood, as he knew the presence of an escaped convict in a Galra occupied city might turn heads if not disguised. It also had a magnetic sheath on the back, holding the sword Coran had given to him. It would have probably been a double handed sword for the average Altean, but he confidently used it with only one before returning it to his back. The armor had jets built in, materializing helmet capabilities, and an overcoat of sorts, going down to around his knees. It was easy and comfortable to move around in, and when Shiro asked if he wanted to test it out, he very happily joined him for a sparring session.

 

The two stood on opposite sides of the ring. They called Lance down to monitor, just in case either of them got too intense. Lotor took a practice sword from the wall, and cracked his neck. “You ready for this Black Paladin?”

“You’re not the only champion in this palace.” Shiro grinned, his hand glowing as they circled the ring.

Both of them charged at alarming speeds, Shiro jumping up in the air as Lotor went low, using his opponent’s shoulder as a vaulting point and landing opposite to where he started. Lance watched wide eyed as the two of them continued to throw themselves at each other like whirlwinds of muscle and trained battle prowess. Lotor braced against Shiro’s punch as he planted his leg, lifting him up over his shoulder, then slamming him onto the ground.

His foot pinned Shiro to the ground, and he held the sword tip against his chest. “That’s a point for me. Want to go again?”

“Help me up and prepare for an ass whooping.” Shiro said, extending his arm as the two.

“Best two out of three?” Lotor pulled the other up.

“Unless you win, sure.”

Shiro did not win two out of three, or three out of five, in all, he only won twice. But he took it in stride, as Lotor was around a foot taller than him, and this was a friendly situation.

“If it were life or death I would have gutted you.” Shiro put his arm around Lotor, and the gesture was returned.

“And I you.” Lotor laughed at the remark, knowing it would have been true both ways.

“Well now that we know you can fight in that, we should go show you off!” Shouted Lance, tossing them both the Capri-sun looking pouches. “I bet pidge wants to boast about their handiwork.”

“Well they deserve to.” Lotor said, brushing off his coat. “It’s very nice.”

They all walked back to the bridge, Lotor didn’t feel like speaking, his eyes focused straight ahead

Allura sat on the steps of the bridge, chatting with Pidge, Hunk, and two people he either hadn’t seen before or did not remember. Upon seeing the guests, Shiro lit up. “Keith! Matt! How have you been?” As quickly as he could, he ran over and lifted one of them, shorter with black hair, into a hug. “Everything good with the Blades.”

“Yeah, yeah everything’s good Shiro.” He must be Keith, the former paladin of both the Red and Black lions. He Smiled and patted his friend on the back. “Though you’re crushing a few of my ribs, and they just healed.”

“From what?” asked Lance, walking over as Shiro set him down and giving his friend a side hug.

“I got thrown pretty badly on that first Altean mission, everything’s pretty good now. Just the robot arm hug was pretty tight.” He walked over to Lotor, crossing his arms. “And you, you’re heavy as hell. Don’t pass out on this mission, because I don’t want to carry you again alright?”

“I do not intend to become unconscious this time. Luckily we’re on the same side as well this time.” Lotor extended his hand. “I am Lotor.”

“Keith Kogane. Nice to officially meet you finally.” He looked over at Matt. “Come say hello moron.”

“That’s not very nice Keith. I was coming over, hold your horses.” Matt got up and looked Lotor up and down. “I like your outfit. I heard Pidge helped put it together?”

“Indeed, It is quite good work. Hopefully we look enough like your average space travelers that we don’t get stopped.” Lotor said, drawing a scoff from both Matt and Keith.

“A seven foot half galra, a guy wearing the colors of the Blade of Marmora, and a Human are probably going to draw some attention. But it’s nothing we can’t handle.” Said Keith, fiddling with the knife strapped to his waist.

“You all need to be careful.” Allura spoke up, “I want you to avoid conflict as much as possible, as the Castle won’t be close by if you get in trouble.”

“We’ll be very careful Princess. I swear it.” Lotor smiled at her concern, watching her delicate features turn so serious amused him in a way.

“I am with Keith when he says no fainting, you understand this Lotor?” She walked up to him with her arms crossed, he almost swore he could see her glancing him up and down in the new outfit, though he couldn’t be sure.

“Of course Princess.” He laughed slightly. “I’m more resilient than I seem.”

“Does he faint a lot? Should I get some smelling salts?” Jabbing him in the arm with his elbow, Matt grinned.

“There have been circumstances out of my control where I was rendered unconscious, one being when I was sedated, and the other being after operating the Teleduv.” Lotor smirked, “That last one probably saved your fellow rebel’s lives.”

“Oh really, well pardon me, oh great hero.” Matt bowed mockingly, drawing laughter from Lotor himself, and everyone else. “You seem chill. Can’t wait to bash some sentry heads with you.”

“I said to avoid conflict Matt.” Allura scolded, frowning in his direction.

“Of course princess, of course.” He then turned to Lotor and very clearly mouthed “No.” while shaking his head.

 

As the three headed down to the Shuttle Bay from the Bridge, Pidge went over a final check of Lotor’s equipment. With their final approval, he began to walk towards the ship they were going to take, only to be stopped by a hand wrapping around his wrist.

“Lotor.” Allura’s voice behind him came as a surprise.

He turned, looking down at her. “Princess.”

“I want- No I need you to be careful. Send me messages as often as you can, and when you have a solid extraction plan and an idea of how to take down the Galra base, tell me as soon as you can.” She squeezed his wrist almost painfully tight, almost hiding a pained expression on her face. There was just enough of a furrow between her brows that he knew she was upset and had something bothering her.

“Is this a request, or a command, Princess?” He said, gently taking her hand, freeing his own and tilting her head up to look him in the eyes.

“A command.” She said firmly. “You are to return unharmed. I know you can do it.”

“You would be correct.” He smiled softly. “I’ll be back before you know it. I promise.”

“Swear. Swear on… Swear on…” She frowned, knowing he didn’t exactly own anything to swear on.

“I swear on your trust, and on my former title as Prince, I will return. As long as you swear to sleep soundly while I am gone.” He felt that Keith and Matt were waiting, but he could not have cared less, Allura was what mattered to him.

“I don’t know if I can, but I’ll try.” She smiled and squeezed his hand. “See you soon.”

“And you as well Princess.” He nodded as their hands parted. He turned and boarded the shuttle, taking a seat behind Keith and Matt, who were checking the controls. He saw Shiro, Hunk, lance, Pidge, Coran, and Allura waving as they left the bay, preparing for it to open into bleak nothingness. He smiled, glad to know they would worry.

He hadn’t had that before.

 

“So, what’s with you and the princess huh?” They had been flying for almost a varga when Matt broke the silence of the cockpit.

“I do not know what you mean.” Lotor said, realizing that the Holts seemed to be very much alike in more than looks.

“You sure about that buddy?” Lotor could see Matt’s grin in the reflection of the glass. “You looked to have been having a moment with her earlier.”

“She made me promise to be safe is all.” Lotor spoke calmly, not wanting to end up having the conversation he had had with pidge all over again, in a slightly deeper octave.

“Well she didn’t tell us to be safe, and she looked to be pretty invested in your talk from what I saw.” He could somehow sense Keith was rolling his eyes as Matt egged Lotor on. “I’m just saying, I usually only see that kind of devotion between Keith and Shiro.”

“Hey!” Keith yelped, quickly sitting up. “There’s nothing going on between us either. Just because you somehow got someone to date you while stranded in space doesn’t make you an expert on romance.”

“I mean, At least in your case it does. Mostly because I knew how you felt before I left for space.” Matt smirked, causing Keith to quickly unclip from his harness.

“I swear to god Matt I’m not letting you bully me on this anymore! That was years ago now!” He threw up his hands as he slid past Lotor into the living quarters of the ship.

“Doesn’t mean it isn’t true!” Matt shouted back at him, grinning. He looked at Lotor “Trust me, I know him.”

“I think you know how to annoy him at least.” Lotor laughed slightly. “Do you mind if I go back there? The seats are slightly uncomfortable.”

“Oh go ahead, but I expect one of you to take a shift in a while alright?” Matt waved casually as Lotor got up, stretching his legs.

“I can do that. Feel free to call me back.” He passed through the curtains into the area of the ship that had two bunks, a small food preparation station, and a bathroom set up. Keith had sat down on the floor with his eyes shut, his breathing even.

Lotor sat down on the bottom bunk, watching as Keith seemed to take on the appearance of a statue, calm as a windless sea.

They both remained silent for a while, before Lotor quietly asked, “Do you also wonder if their affections for you exist.”

“Whose affections?” Keith responded, his eyes still shut.

“Whoever it is that you like, even if it is not Shiro.” He caught a flush of pink surging to Keith’s face, but it quickly faded as he opened his eyes and turned to the other.

“Of course I do. That’s just how it works. But it doesn’t mean that it’ll happen.” He sighed.

“I understand. I was just curious.” Lotor sighed, leaning against the wall.

“What about you?” Keith looked up at Lotor.

“I feel very strongly, but I find myself inferior in comparison to them.” Lotor sighed. “She’s just… So perfect. And I am… Very much not.”

“But she’s still a person.” He scooched onto the side of the bed, joining Lotor in leaning against a wall.

“I know, but I hardly am. I was feral enough to attack my rescuers, remember.” He laughed softly, referring to the Blades members he had taken down before being sedated.

“That wasn’t your fault though, and look at yourself now!” He opened his hands excitedly at his exclamation. “Going off to rescue a bunch of people you rescued before.”

“These will probably be their children. I’d be surprised if any of them remembered me aside from being the wretch who failed them.” He groaned as Keith elbowed him.

“You sound so fucking emo man.” He laughed.

“A few of the paladins have referred to you as such before. I’m guessing it isn’t positive.” Snickering slightly, Lotor looked over to Keith, who shook his head.

“Its fine I guess.” He sighed. “So you’re Zarkon’s son?” Lotor nodded. “That’s rough… My dad died.”

“That seems more difficult. Did you have a mother?” Lotor asked.

“Nah, she’s a galra. She left when I was a baby. She’s in the blades though.” He shrugged. “Haven’t met her yet.”

“Isn’t Matt’s father missing?” Lotor asked, taking his sword and setting it at his side.

“Yeah, when he and Shiro were captured, he was separated from them. No one’s sure where he is right now.” Keith glanced at the curtains. “I don’t know how he stays so damn peppy all the time.”

They sat quietly, Keith awkwardly messing with his knife again. “You might want to try and sleep, espionage missions are pretty stressful, sometimes it’s hard to catch shut eye once youre in the thick of it.”

He climbed up onto the top bunk quickly, as if that was an indicator that he was going to take a nap. Sighing, Lotor set his sword on the floor next to him, and laid down. He was surprised how tired he felt when his head finally touched the pillow. The ship had obviously been designed with shorter people in mind, and so when he laid, his feet touched the wall, but he didn’t mind. Very quickly he descended into that space where one might feel awake, thinking they had only shut their eyes for a few moments, but when he opened them once more, to the tapping of someone on his shoulder, it seemed as if a decent amount of time had passed.

“Hey man, you were out for a while, but it’s your turn to pilot.” Keith had seemingly taken the shift after Matt, as there was a soft sound of snoring from above, on a small ship like this, there wasn’t much to do but sleep. Nodding, Lotor rose, trading the bed with Keith, who Lotor noticed seemed surprisingly short now that he was not sitting right next to him.

“I’ll shout if anything untoward happens.” Lotor moved through the shuttle groggily.

“M’alright. Wake matt up in like two hours I guess.” He had been asleep for four hours? While time flew in some senses, he knew this would take absolutely forever

Lotor was rusty on piloting, but he was glad he didn’t seem to have to do much, as auto-pilot seemed to be working well and good. So he sat in the pilot’s seat, and found himself absentmindedly taking his communicator out.

He was surprised to find that there was already a message waiting for him. Allura had sent a simple “How is everything?” with a little “:)” at the end. Fumbling for a moment, as the keys felt too small for his hands, he wrote back,

“All is well, taking turns piloting with Keith and Matt. I like Keith. He said I seemed Emo? Is that true?” It took a bit of correcting typos and such to satisfy him, but eventually he hit send.

The response was surprisingly rapid. “I do not think so! He is one to talk with how he behaved before joining the Blades. He was dark and brooding, and wore fingerless gloves.” Lotor smiled at how fast she replied.

“Is there something wrong with fingerless gloves?” Lotor questioned.

“Not unless you are Keith, who constantly would keep his fists balled up as if he was going to fight everyone. :/” The way she used the little faces made Lotor smile, it was easier to know what she was thinking in that case.

“So you wouldn’t get mad if I wore them?” He pulled his ankle over his knee and leaned back calmly, watching the horizon and the radar, nothing was nearby enough to bother them.

“Not sure they would suit you. I bet a pair of dignified dress gloves would look very nice though! :D” He remembered when he once attended a ball on a Galra occupied planet in his youth he was made to wear a pair of white gloves. Out of everything he wore, he probably hated them the least. The local dress was not made for people over 5’6”.

“Maybe in the right situation. What is going on at the castle currently?” He was worried they were running out of things to talk about. It wasn’t like they had read any books together recently.

“Nothing really, mostly preparing for when we need to meet with you. Are you piloting right now?” She asked.  
“Yes”

“Are you any good?” Lotor pondered this question, there was a time where he would have confidently said yes, but that was before his world had been severely narrowed. He sighed and typed.

“Not anymore.” With a sense of dour acceptance. “I used to be good but fell out of practice.”

“In the future, I’ll help you get better” She sounded so sure over text, it made his chest tighten and he smiled softly.

“Thank you Princess, I would love to be able to ride with you.” He typed that out, then erased part of it. Sending only “Thank you Princess.” He rested his head against the padded chair, and sighed softly, wistfully staring at the small screen as he once had looked at the Princess through the glass of his cell.

“I miss you Lotor.” The small letters on the screen read. Lotor felt his chest tighten more, and he pulled his legs up under him as he sat.

“I miss you too Princess, But can I ask why you said this all of a sudden?”

“Because I do not want you to forget I am waiting for you. I miss having you around to talk to, you’re my best friend, how could I not miss you?” For a second his smile faltered, but very quickly returned at the sensation of want, of being wanted.

“Time will go by faster than you know. Do not worry Princess.” He tried to convince himself that, but he wasn’t quite sure.


	4. Remembered by Many

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Under a Bar, there is a place full of memory. Above it there's a home of new begining.

Matt was the one who took over in landing the ship, and hiding it in the desert outside of the city. Lotor always found settlements such as this interesting, as they were built as sort of oases in both the desert and space. As they grabbed their things, he watched as the nearby sun rose above the horizon.

“I haven’t seen a real sunrise in years.” He sighed, leaning against the still warm hull of the ship.

“I miss sunrise on earth. I lived out in the desert, so it was a pretty clear shot of the horizon. There were lots of wild colors usually.” Keith jumped out of the shuttle, adjusting the bag on his back. “You got everything?”

“I do not have much to get. What is keeping Matt?” Lotor stood up, glancing into the ship.

“He’s messing with the cloaking. We can start walking, he can catch up.” Lotor was surprised at how fast Keith walked, as if there was something chasing him, or he was trying to keep up with someone. He tagged along, matching Keith’s pace.

“You know, I once was on a planet with three suns, and witnessed them all rising at the same time.” Lotor commented, watching as the sun reflected off of the city in the distance.

“Really? How was that?” Lotor heard crunching behind them, turning to see it was only Matt, and that the ship seemed to have vanished.

“Pretty hot I bet.” Matt grinned.

“You are right. It was sweltering and I wanted to leave. More does not always mean better.” Keith snorted at his remark, nodding a bit.

“It was hot as hell out in the desert, so I’d like to think I understand.” Around the outside of the city there were small buildings, and a lot of stalls. It was some kind of market, with a large variation of species buying and selling goods and offering services. Lotor pulled up his mask and hood cautiously. None of them looked particularly out of place though. It seemed like a lot of people were accustomed to shady figures wearing cloaks and large swords walking through their market.

“Ten credits for a weapons polish!” Shouted one man.

“Bulk Food Goo! Only 20 credits a brick!” Someone else yelled in the distance.

“I get how easy it would be to blend in, especially with the biological camouflage.” Lotor muttered, watching a group of children playing in the street. He smiled softly, then watched as one threw a ball over their friend’s head, and it bounced, one, two, three times, rolling up to him.

He picked it up as the kids pushed the one who had thrown the ball to retrieve it. He dashed over nervously, but puffed up his chest and pointed to the ball. “Give it back!”

Lotor handed it out. “Be more careful when throwing things. You wouldn’t want to hit anyone.” He noticed as the kid snatched it back, he turned red, the small pink marks on his cheeks became more visible. When Lotor looked at the rest of the children, he saw two others, though they didn’t look obviously Altean, they had markings amidst various colors and patterns twisting across their skin. Lotor quickly nudged Matt, who had become distracted by a stall selling circuitry and various pieces of tech.

“Ow! Dude what you want.” He turned quickly, frowning.

“Those kids might be a clue of where we need to go.” He whispered. “Some have Altean marks.” The stall owner glared at them, tapping their fingers against the table.

“What do you need with those kids hm?” They were glaring with an intensity that seemed to show they knew these children. “You aren’t some kind of undercover patrol huh? Because I don’t want any trouble, but if we need to have a conversation…”

“No, No, No trouble, nothing of the sort.” Matt laughed awkwardly. “You can’t just say sketchy shit about kids’ man.”

“Well it just seemed the most logical connection.” The kids had run off down the street, but the person in the stall, who seemed hardly older than Matt, had their hand on a knife at their waist.

“Are you looking for people with the uh…” They tapped their cheeks, glancing around nervously.

“Yes! Do you know anything?” Lotor leaned in, noticing that a lot of the circuitry seemed familiar somehow.

“And you’re not like… Galra sentries or anything?” The shopkeeper squinted at him. “You seem pretty purple.”

“It’s a skin condition.” Matt chimed in. “He got it when we were on a Sarvakian moon.”

“Uh, yes, it is. But the people with the markings. What do you know?” Lotor said, glancing at Matt, slightly offended he would imply he ever had anything wrong with his skin.

“Well, my friend Bellay lives in the 13th sector, and she’s got family who knows some people that run this Bar. The people who go there are this sort of… religious sect. They set up shop on this planet a few thousand years ago, before the Galra got here. They run a church out of the basement. Those kids live in the orphanage it runs. I’m not really sure what they practice. But I do know they make this drink… It’s kinda awful tasting, but it makes your hair grow if you use it in place of soap.” They nodded as if this was a completely normal thing to say to strangers. “If you need to find them, try looking around the 14th Sector. They can be kinda reclusive though.”

“14th Sector? Alright, Uh. Give me whatever this is.” Lotor pointed to a set of white and blue pieces of machinery. “Matt, pay the nice person who gave us information.”

Matt groaned and shelled out the credits and Lotor looked around the market. There was a strange combination of salvage and something else in the architecture. He knew if he had more time he could figure it out, but they had a church to find.

Keith showed up with a bag of some kind of some kind of fried food. “The food the blades have is subpar.” He muttered awkwardly.

Walking through the city, Lotor’s eyes were drawn to pillars and sleek stone construction. “I have a hunch that the Alteans have been helping in the running of the city for a very long while. All of these construction techniques are similar to those we used in building the colony. Quick, sturdy, and long lasting.” As they grew closer and closer to the 14th Sector, the amount of Altean patchwork grew, and Lotor’s nostalgia for the colony he had helped build grew intensely. “I’m surprised none of the Galra noticed, it’s almost like Altea grew right under their noses.”

“Why would anyone pay attention, Alteans were supposed to be dead. We only figured out they still existed because in a twist of fate, you helped us find them.” Keith offered up the bag of fried bits. “They taste like someone made a tater-tot out of onions and cream cheese.”

“I have no clue what either of those are.” Lotor said, taking one and pulling down his mask momentarily to eat it. “Alright, I can somehow understand that concept and I don’t know why.”

“It’s weird, right?” Keith continued to eat them, unbothered by the strange taste and texture combination what was crunchy and unnervingly smooth.

As they made their way to a district that seemed distinctly well-kept, with a lack of people on the streets, they saw a familiar location.

“That’s the bar from Pidge’s surveillance drone.” Said Matt, gesturing down an alley. The building was much older than the surrounding buildings, with a lack of ground floor windows, and the only noticeable door being the one into the bar.

“Well, this seems like our best lead.” Matt said with a sigh. “You guys want to go in?”

Lotor nodded, inspecting the building curiously. It seemed to have supports made of old ship parts, similar to the ones he remembered having in the colony. “This is a good start.” He didn’t say that to anyone in particular, he had once said it to a group of builders as they had put up the framework for the first batch of houses.

He pushed ahead of both of his companions, and tested the door. It swung inwards, unlocked and unguarded. People sat in booths and at tables, the bar had a man with massive forearms and a shiny bald head standing behind it. He looked up at the three of them, and then looked back down, reading something laying on the counter.

Having been locked up in a series of Galra prison for the last few thousand years had not changed bars in the slightest. It was dark, lit with faint neon pinks and blues of advertisements projected on dusty walls. In the corner past the bartender, there was a set of steps, and an open door, a faint song coming from the depths of the building. Slowly but surely he took a step, then another, finding himself at the countertop, he made awkward eye contact with the burly man. “What kind of drinks do you sell?”

“Various spirits, cocktails, the like. But you don’t look to be searching for a drink.” He had grey scaled skin, but the distinctive red markings across his cheeks betrayed him to Lotor. They were in the right spot.

“I was told you offer spiritual assistance.” He sat at the squeaky swivel stool, shifting awkwardly.

“You don’t look…” He squinted at Lotor. “Mind taking off your hood pal. Mask too.”

With a sigh, Lotor pulled down his mask, and pushed back his cowl, trying to fix his hair which had grown stimulated by static. The man frowned. “You using a chameleon skill? Or what.”

“I’m half Galra. I’m no longer affiliated. But I heard this place has connections to my other half.” The Bartender looked at him skeptically, but his eyes landed on a detail pidge had left on the front of his coat.

“You with that… Volton? Voltorn? Whatever it is?” He propped his forearms on the counter.

“Indeed. As are my compatriots.” Matt and Keith had sat at a nearby table, trying not to draw attention to themselves as they watched Lotor cautiously.

“They coming here?” The man sounded worried. “We caught wind of… They found another group like our own, are they going to come here as well.”

“We are a recon team of sorts.” Lotor saw that the man was nervous. “We are hoping to remove the galra influence from this planet in a more surgical and precise manner if possible. Part of that was finding allies. I was sent by Princess Allura and her fellow Paladins.”

“Allura? Like the old princess of Altea?” The man said the name of the planet for the first time, and Lotor could feel eyes target the back of his neck. This was not a name often spoken openly apparently.

“The very same. She survived the destruction of Altea narrowly.” The man seemed confused by this. “She was in stasis. She is not 10,000 years old.”

“Ah, alright.” He said, as if that was all he needed. “So she’s with Voltorb?”

“Voltron, and yes. She is the pilot of the Blue Lion.” Suddenly the group of children from the market ran in.

“Hello Piyter!” One yelled before running down the steps into the basement. All of the kids followed, waving at the bartender, who sighed.

“I’m going to have to have you talk to the priestess. Your buddies too. Just follow me.” He pointed to Keith and Matt “You two! Follow me.”

 

As they followed Piyter down the steps into the basement, Matt leaned towards Lotor and whispered “The hell did you say to him?”

“I talked about Voltron, and the Princess. Nothing much really.” The music they could hear grew louder as they descended, the smell of incense and fermentation growing stronger.

The space under the bar had large metal vats pushed against one wall, seemingly creating the liquor the bar itself used. The wall across from it had a shrine set into it, candles, incense and a planter box sat underneath a half circle of small statuettes. There were shockingly bright lights set up, being used to grow the flowers that flourished in the boxes set up around the room.

“These are juniberries, correct?” Lotor asked as they were stopped at the base of the stairs.

“Indeed they are young man.” A hunched over old woman turned to the group, putting a pair of shears in an apron at her waist. “Piyter, why do you look so nervous? These three seem like lovely boys, you don’t have to guard them so intensely.”

“Uhm, Ma’am, these men are with Voltron. I thought it best to bring them to you.” He smiled awkwardly.

“You don’t have to call me Ma’am Piyter.” She said sternly, walking over to them slowly. Lotor wished he could lend her a hand, but she seemed ever so confident in herself, he feared it to be disrespectful.

“Yes Madelia.” He sighed, “I’ve got to get back. Holler if these three do anything.”

“Of course dear.” She waved him off, sending him up the stairs casually. “Alright you three, come sit.” She gestured towards cushions set up on the ground. She hobbled over to them, sitting on a stool in front of them all.

Lotor sat with his legs under him, Matt and Keith took up the cushions to the left of him, Keith sitting cross legged, and Matt lounging as if he was having a picnic on the lawn of some great park. “Alright boys, introduce yourselves if you would. And speak up, my hearing isn’t what it used to be.”

“I’m Keith Kogane. I’m a member of the Blades of Marmora, I used to pilot the Red Lion.” As he spoke, Lotor finally got a good look at the old woman. Her hair was white with age, and her skin was a deep brown, she didn’t seem to have any form of camouflage equipped, her markings a bright blue on her cheeks, and her long ears heavy with jewelry.

“And why did you stop Keith?” She leaned forward, smiling kindly, like a grandmother would to a child telling a story.

“Uh… Some things came up… I thought it would be for the best.” He spoke sheepishly, looking away from her.

“Hm, interesting. You there, who are you.” She pointed a work hardened finger at Matt, who sat up quickly.

“Matthew Holt, I was on a mission to a moon called Kerberos, and then joined the Rebellion. Since the rebellion joined up with the Voltron Coalition, I’m with them.” He smiled nervously. Madelia nodded, rubbing her chin contemplatively.

“You seem like a bit of a nerd.” She said calmly, and then turned to Lotor, who anticipated her question before she shook her head. “You’re not even supposed to be alive, are you?”

“I’m sorry? What?” He said, shocked.

“The whole universe against you and you somehow manage to survive this long. It’s a damn miracle.” She pointed over at the planter next to him. “You said these were Juniberries, I bet you’ve got an idea of where they came from too.” She smiled. “My ancestors kept seeds with them after Altea was destroyed, then when they were taken to a colony, they planted them and turned a few into thousands. Then when they had to leave, they did the same thing.”

“I suspected as much.” He said, smiling slightly. “They are lovely.”

“Now, I want to guess your name alright. Correct me if I’m wrong.” She got up, and then went over to the shrine, picking up a statuette and looking it over. “These all have names, even this one.” She came over, and handed it to Lotor, who was puzzled for a moment.

There was a second where he couldn’t figure out what she meant by handing it to him. It was sculpted and he could see small fingerprints in the long arms and in the tiny features in the face. The figure had long hair, and its armor was different from the statues still standing at the altar.

“If I’m correct, you must be Lotor, right honey?” She was grinning. The statue was him, it was what he looked like thousands of years ago, but it was him. He looked over the details quietly, from the hair to the greaves, it was like a snapshot into the past.

“Why was this up there?” He asked, setting it down, his stomach churning, and heart beating fast.

“Well, for one, there was a general idea that you were dead. Self-sacrifice is a large element in Altean Theology, but you know that already. So when my great-great-grandmother was making the statues of the ancients, she said “It’s only right he be with them, he deserved it.” She laughed. “Must be fate that you showed up here.”

He felt a hand on his back, and heard Keith whisper “You alright?” He didn’t understand why he would ask that, until he recognized how bleary his vision had grown. He tapped his face, feeling tears on his cheeks.

“Are you serious?” He muttered, looking up at her. “You recognized me from an eons old statue, and you are just going to accept that?”

“Well seeing as you started crying because of it, I’d think I’m right.” She said, crossing her arms. “You’re a bit worse for wear, but not much different than that old thing. “Now Piyter said you wanted to talk about Voltron. What would you like to say.”

Lotor wiped his face, and shakily inhaled. “The coalition is hoping to liberate this planet from the Galra, and seeing as you have an enclave of people thought to be extinct for generations, we wanted to confirm you were here.”

“Well if we weren’t here, would you still help this planet?” She said, gently picking up the small statue and placing it next to the statues of various Altean ancestors.

“I would think so. Eventually the whole galaxy will be free of the Galra Empire.” Lotor shifted his legs, crossing his feet as he watched her.

“Will this be a safe operation?” She tottered back to the stool in front of them.

“Well, this is war, but we hope to evacuate those in immediate danger, and consolidate the fighting to the Galra outpost.” He glanced over at Keith and Matt, who nodded at him.

“Yes, the Voltron Coalition has been successful in operations like this in the past. With your full cooperation, no one in your group will be harmed, and if we can gain the trust of the populous of the city, evacuation will be much easier.” Matt leaned forward. “With the knowledge we have now, we can get this done much quicker.”

“You boys promise to me, you’ll save every life you can, civilian or Galra. Those soldiers have families too you know.” She said this softly. “Even if they don’t know it.” She looked at Lotor with a sort of sorrow, as if she knew how much pain he had gone through in his 10,000 years.

“We’ll do our best Ma’am.” Keith said, smiling at the old lady with a charm Lotor hadn’t seen him use before, and by Matt’s surprised look, he had never done it with him around.

She looked at the three of them, her arms crossed, then nodded. “You three need a place to stay, am I right.”

“We wouldn’t want to impose Ma’am.” Matt said, readying himself to stand.

“Nonsense, you boys come upstairs, I’ll introduce you to the kids, and we can start making dinner.” She hobbled over to a cane propped against the shrine. “Need this to get up the stairs.”

Lotor hopped up and offered her his arm “If you need assistance, do not be afraid to ask.”

“Humph, kind boy.” She took his hand, leaning on both him and the cane, and led the boys up the stairs.

The Dinner consisted of a stew of fragrant smelling vegetables Lotor had never had before, some kind of juice that was more of a gel than a liquid, and some kind of bread made out of tough desert grains. But it tasted good, it was home cooked, and like Hunk’s cooking, full of love, and maybe a little spite depending on the day. The children who lived above the bar quickly made up names for the each of them. Lotor laughed a bit every time they called him Purple Man, or Dragon mouth. Not all of the kids were Altean. Some were half, and some just seemed to be children without anyone else. But something caught his eye, most of the children who were not Altean, seemed to have galra features.

He watched as kids with fluffy cheeks, or slit eyes, or sharp teeth tousled and played in the open plan second floor. He looked over at Madelia. “When you said the galra soldiers had families, did you mean some of these children?” He whispered.

“You know how when people have power, they like to flaunt it. Use it to get people on their side, then toss ‘em away.” She sighed. “We get a lot of young parents who got fed lies by some bigger, stronger Galra. That they’d take care of them.”

“When I was imprisoned, I met a lot of Half-Galra who were angry, angry about promises that never came true.” He watched as a young girl with a large tail threw herself at a friend, yelling happily. “Its what got them in trouble usually.”

“Well, these kids don’t know. And I don’t want them to be angry when they find out.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “Once Voltron comes, they’ll all be safe. Once the empire is dismantled, there wont be need for revenge.”

He nodded, and covered his mouth while he yawned.

“Beds are upstairs love. Feel free to turn in early.” She smiled, putting away a few final things from dinner, and letting Lotor go.

He walked up one more flight of stairs to a dormitory where there were futons laying in rows on the floor, for all the children, and any visitors. He took the one closest to the stairs, where light from downstairs leaked up and let him still feel awake as he lay.

“Princess?” He typed into his communicator.

There was a pause. A few silent minutes. Then the thing buzzed and displayed “Lotor! I miss you!”

“I miss you too Princess. We found the Alteans. It’s interesting, what were the ones you found like. Have you met with any?” He found a blanket and pulled it up over his head.

“They were very kind, none of them were old enough to remember Altea, or even your colony. It seemed like they had been under a very close watch, so I’m not sure if they have a close grasp on the culture aside from staying together.” It was curious how each group in the diaspora had developed different customs. “But they were excited to learn about Altea, and our culture.”

“This group seems to have a very close grasp on the culture. They have a shrine to the ancients, and even make some strange version of Nunvil that I haven’t tasted yet and I’m not sure I want to.” He ran his thumb over the side of the communicator. It was small in his hands, but for any Altean, or most other races, it would be rather large. Similarly, his feet hung off the end of the futon, and so he curled up into a ball, rubbing his face against the pillow.

“You’ll have to make sure to bring some back alright. I’m curious what non-10,000 year old Nunvil tastes like at this point.” Lotor’s eyes ached, but he didn’t want to stop this conversation.

“Princess, tell everyone I say hello alright?” He paused and quickly typed another message “I’m feeling very lethargic. Forgive me if I stop responding.”

“That’s alright Lotor! If you need to rest then do so!” Allura typed back, sitting in her bed, wishing he wouldn’t go to sleep. Her heart pounded every time the communicator vibrated with a message. But after she sent hers, they stopped coming. He was asleep, and she was alone with a tightness in her chest she wished would go away.

“You are just friends Allura that is all. He turned you down, and you both know that was for the best.” She huffed, letting her hair down as she peeled off her flight suit and rummaged around in the mess that was once her closet for a nightgown. Shimmying it over her head, she threw herself on her bed. “He’ll be fine. He was a Gladiator. And if he does need rescuing, you have an entire castle, and also, a giant lion. But he won’t.” She pressed the button to turn the lights down. “He will be absolutely fine.”

She wished she could stop worrying, but even as she pulled the covers up around her shoulders and curled up against the various pillows she had pressed against the wall, she couldn’t move that tightness from her chest, or the worry from the space under her ribs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School is starting back up soon, I'm not sure if that will speed up or slow down chapters. But they will keep coming as long as I want to see something else for all of these characters. <3

**Author's Note:**

> Look, after s8, I just needed some hope damn it.


End file.
